A Very Hiester Easter

We did things a little differently here in the Hiester house for Easter this year. Rather than the kids just waking up and finding their baskets on the kitchen table, I wanted them to do a little work for them... So I created an Easter Scavenger Hunt.


The clues started at the table, where Todd had made a "Hoppy Easter" sign with a rabbit giving the first clue. (He did this the night before while I was at the hospital with Amy)

From there the kids were led around the house finding further clues to the whereabouts of their Easter treats. The clues were all designed to be fun, but easy enough for Elissa to help out. Of course, Tyler knew what all of them were right off the bat. They worked as a team to make sure everyone could be involved.

The final clue led them to the car, and the jackpot. The baskets!

Everyone brought them back in and rummaged through the loot. Amy (Schleuter)- can you talk to Wesley about the faces he makes when I'm trying to take pictures? Thanks :)

Then Daddy got Robben up and he got his Easter Basket. He didn't get to participate in the Scavenger Hunt, but I'm not sure he would have gotten the concept anyway :)

He was enthralled with the pinwheel, but I don't think it really compared to the animal crackers :) He chose those for breakfast...which actually beat everyone else's meal of chocolate. Certain rules do get suspended on holidays :)

After the egg-citement (sorry, I had to do it) of baskets and candy, everyone ran off to get ready for church- the important part of Easter. Naturally we got there late and ended up sitting in the cafe (it was either that or the lobby, so hey, not bad). Apparently, Robben cried the whole time and they finally came and got me right at the end of service. He was fine after that, but I worked in the nursery during the next service and he would not go back to his class. Ally ended up sitting in the family room with him. I don't know if it was the unorthodox breakfast, but this was definitely a new attitude for Robben Carey, who absolutely loves his church class. I hope it was a one time thing!!!

After church we headed over to Chad & Tara's for family, food and fun. She had lots of games planned and even more prizes to give out (she had an overzealous basket-making grandparent). The first game was "Chubby Bunny". The kids have to stuff their cheeks with as many marshmallows as possible, and then say "chubby bunny". If they can utter the magic phrase, they spit out the marshmallows and count them. Whoever has the most wins.

The boys get pretty disgusting with it. Wesley causes quite a scene with lots of yelling, laughing, gagging and spitting. In the end, he had the same number as Tyler, but he couldn't say chubby bunny. I think Tyler won (quietly).

After some more grazing around the food display, we sent the guys out to "hide" eggs. We had them leave 30 eggs out in the open for Robben and the twins to "find"... more like collect.

I remember saying last year, "Just imagine, next year Robben will be running around with the rest of them hunting for eggs." Sure enough! I think he got about 7. He doesn't care what's inside, though. It's all about putting them in the basket :)

And the ones that were placed on the swings got a ride :) We had to convince him to take them. He loves giving things rides, so when he saw the eggs on the swings he was all about gently pushing them back and forth. My little cutie.

Next the kids did Egg Bowling. It's actually more like horseshoes, but whatever. Tara placed an orange (it was supposed to be a hard-boiled egg that was left white, but she forgot to save one) on the grass, and then everyone got a colored egg to throw. Whoever got closest won. Because there were so many prizes, they got to play a lot. Probably everyone won except Tyler... he has terrible luck.

Robben didn't really get a turn, per se, but he did go over and pick up the orange once :) He was probably going to go put it in his basket!

When the kids were all done, Todd and Chad tried their hands at it. My man actually hit the orange with his egg :) :) :)

Then we ate some more. We did the usual grazing, but we also had ham sandwiches and various potato and pasta salads. And candy.

The final game was one without a name. The kids had to sit in a chair with a cup on their heads. Someone would hold a mirror in front of them and they would have to try to fill their cups with candy. Ally found out it's pretty easy when you touch the cup, so we had to make a rule: no touching the cup :) Naturally, Tyler's fell off his head before he even started. On his second attempt, he managed to fill the cup almost to the brim, but didn't know when to say enough is enough, so it tipped, spilling it's entire contents. This game was a bit more hazardous for the baby, with so much candy all over the ground (choking hazard, in Elissa's words.).

This final picture is included to prove a point I've been trying to make for years: Tyler is weird!

The Hiesters had a good Easter, and we hope your family did as well...